October baseball has started with a bang. With the Mets down to their last two outs, a struggling Pete Alonso flipped the script and launched New York past Milwaukee and into the National League Division Series.
OMG!
FOX Sports MLB Writers Deesha Thosar again Rowan Kavner give them their take on Thursday’s fun shows.
What’s cooler than cool? The Polar Bear
Pete Alonso, after facing September and the first days of October, finally got his time. Coming off the biggest at-bat of his career, Alonso had two options. He could end his 2024 campaign (and possibly his Mets career as well) on a very bad note, doing nothing to change the script for a win or a home run. Or, he could help save the Mets’ season and possibly send them to the NLDS against the Phillies. Who was calling his name?
Number two option.
During a hard at-bat against closer Devin Williams, where he took balls to pitches 2, 3 and 4, Alonso’s decision to swing at pitch five, a change in the heart of the sinners, was a fateful moment. The All-Star slugger smashed a ninth-inning three-run home run, the Mets dugout erupted, the viewing party of 10,000 fans at Citi Field lost their minds, and the season of stressful moments from the Polar Bear ended. you forgot.
Until Thursday’s Game 3, Alonso had become a joke. He couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position. He recorded 34 home runs in a full season. As if things couldn’t get any worse, he tripped on his bat while running outside the box in Wednesday’s Game 2 to produce an inning-ending double play. In a Mets season full of fluff, humor and excitement, Alonso was the odd one out.
All year, the Mets have been waiting for Alonso’s big moment. All year, manager Carlos Mendoza said it would come. Finally, in Game 165, it came. With one throw, Alonso erased all the bad memories of his traveling year. Alonso needed that home run, no doubt. But the Mets needed it more, and that’s why Alonso brought it. – Deesha Thosar
Young talents meet time in these competitions
In another world, we’ll be talking about rookies Jackson Chourio and Tobias Myers leading the Brewers to the National League Division Series. Of course, Pete Alonso wrote a different story.
Devin Williams had allowed three runs in 22 games this season. The Mets tagged the Brewers’ star closer for four in the deciding Game 3 of the wild-card series. And just like that, a day after the neophyte Tigers blew the guns that freed All-Stars Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader to move on to Houston, one of the most decorated closers was unfairly removed from the long winter.
Although it won’t ease the pain for Brewers fans, it was their youngster who gave them a chance. Chourio, just 20 years old, completed a three-game set with five hits, including two game-changing homers in Milwaukee’s Game 2 victory that forced a win-or-go-home game. After Freddy Peralta was tagged for three runs in four innings in Game 1 and Frankie Montas allowed three runs (one earned) in 3.2 innings in Game 2, it was Myers, in the spotlight his first postseason, tossing five scoreless frames. And before the late addition, it was 24-year-old Sal Frelick giving the usually reliable Brewers bullpen insurance to work with.
MLB’s abundance of young talent was on full display in early October, and that shouldn’t change now.
Padres Rookie of the Year winner Jackson Merrill went 3-for-7 in the wild-card series with a double and triple. Parker Meadows led off the scoring in the Tigers’ wild-card game at Houston with a homer.
Among the division winners waiting for their turn, Yankees catcher Austin Wells and pitcher Luis Gil have been in the AL Rookie of the Year conversation for most of the year. In Cleveland, Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis helped turn the Guardians bullpen into a juggernaut. Both teams also have another rookie X-factor that could help turn the series around in Jason DomÃnguez and Kyle Manzardo, respectively. Regardless of what happens from here, many rookies will have a say. – Rowan Kavner
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously applied The Mets as a beat reporter for New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow him on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the LA Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, raised in Texas, and returned to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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